


I wanna see what you see/I wanna be where you are

by CaptainGay



Category: The Shannara Chronicles (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amberle is the Ellcrys for a few chapters, But she comes back, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I might add some plot at some point, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Warnings May Change, mentions of Wil/Amberle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-20 17:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11339625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainGay/pseuds/CaptainGay
Summary: After Wil finds Eretria at Safehold and brings her to safety like he promised, she struggles in her new life. Heartbroken over the loss of Amberle and still healing from severe wounds, Eretria spends most of her time with the Ellcrys. She has few friends, no purpose, and no place to call home (Arborlon means only a free bed and food.)Once Eretria is able to walk with some help, Wil leaves to make his own life as a healer in the Four Lands and Allanon searches for traces of Bandon and the evils that are to come. Eretria is left feeling alone and worthless.On the one year anniversary of Amberle's death, a strange light is seen coming from the Ellcrys. Ander, Eretria, and Catania race to the ancient tree to find the Princess alive and looking exactly like the last time they had seen her.Eretria decides right then that she will forever believe in second chances.





	I wanna see what you see/I wanna be where you are

**Author's Note:**

> I suuuck at summaries, sorry.
> 
> Title is from Disappear (Remember When) by Issues. You should definitely listen to it, it gives me all the feels. (Its got screaming though so....)
> 
> My first Shannara fic! (I should be updating my other fics tho yikes)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from I Can Feel A Hot One by Manchester Orchestra (yet another song that gives me feels)
> 
> TW implied rape.

Wil had found her beaten, bloody and bruised. By the looks of it, she had fought her way through the tunnels and made her last stand in the hallway with the barbed wire barricades that the three had used the pipes above to get past. Dead trolls lay strewn around her and there was a decapitated head at her feet. The pool of blood had attracted flies that also chose to land on her body along with the corpses.

Wil did a double take, his heart stopping when he saw her sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall. He released the breath he didn't know he was holding in when he saw her chest rise and fall. She was breathing, barely.

Upon closer inspection, Wil saw that she had a broken leg and possibly a broken wrist as well. There was a nasty gash on her forehead that appeared to have bled a lot, but had long since stopped; the blood was dark and dry and a few strands of hair were stuck in the still open wound.

Wil knelt in front of the girl and gently shook her shoulder, being careful not to disturb her injured wrist where it lay in her lap. She did not wake. He shook her shoulder again, a little more forcefully with a soft, "Eretria."

He chose to speak quietly as to prevent his voice from traveling throughout the tunnels. He could not be sure all the Trolls were dead. Better safe than sorry.

Her head raised an inch and her eyelids fluttered, but did not open. She had lost more blood than Wil had originally thought. Eretria was pale and abnormally cold. He had to get her out of there and somewhere safer so he could heal her.

Wil slid an arm under her legs and one under her shoulders and stood slowly. He held his friend close to his chest and made sure her head was not bent back at a painful angle. With one last deep breath, Wil made his way out of Safehold for the last time.

 

* * *

 

She awoke gradually. The first sense to come back was sound: she could hear people debating and discussing, but it was muffled as if through a door or a wall. Then it was her sight: the inside of her eyelids were a bright pink, it must be close to midday. Then touch: she was bundled in soft sheets, but an arm and a leg were bound tight and there was something stuck to her forehead. Taste: her mouth was dry, but still tasted like the disgusting plaque after a too long nap. Finally, smell: some floral incense was burning somewhere in the room and her own sweat smell hung heavy in the air around her.

She struggled to open her eyes; they were nearly glued shut by the crust that had built up. One look around the room confirmed where she was. Arborlon.

All she could remember was fighting every last troll she could find then collapsing in exhaustion back at Safehold. She remembered the pain of her wounds after the adrenaline wore off. She remembered being awoken and carried, but not when or by whom. She did not remember arriving at Arborlon or how she came to be in this bed with only a nightgown on and her wounds dressed.

She rubbed at her eyes and attempted to sit up, but she had little strength left in her body. She was able to lift her shoulders an inch off the bed before crashing back down. She was about to attempt again when the door opened and someone walked in, closing the door behind them. She hadn't noticed the conversation outside had stopped. Catania stopped dead in her tracks when she looked up to see eyes looking back at her.

"Oh. You're finally up. We were beginning to worry." She made her way over to Eretria and sat down in a chair that had been next to the bed. "If you don't mind, I will just check your bandages. This first one may hurt a bit."

Eretria made no attempt to respond, she was not sure her voice would work. She flinched as the bandage was torn from her forehead, taking a few loose strands of hair with it. The bandage was barely bloody and Catania hummed in approval.

"I think you should air it out for a bit and then we can bandage it one last time while you sleep. Now I will check the others."

This lasted for a few minutes: Catania checking the various bandages all over Eretria's body, letting some air out to be bandaged later or gently applying more salve and putting on a clean bandage for others. There were more wounds than Eretria remembered being cut, but she was glad most of them were almost healed. Catania left her wrist and leg alone, it was too risky to take off the casts so soon.

Catania got up to discard the old bandages and grab a cup of water and bread. Eretria watched silently. She made no comment on the girl's silence, for which she was grateful. Catania sat back down and handed Eretria the cup and began tearing a bit sized piece off of the loaf.

Eretria drank slowly, letting the cool liquid soothe her dry and sore throat. She drank all of the water in one go and still felt thirsty, but it was now tolerable. She switched the empty cup for the piece of bread.

As she let the bread sit in her mouth (she didn't want to scratch her throat up with dry bread), she thought of what she would say or ask. A few things came to mind: "Where's Amberle? Where's Wil? Is it all over? Are the Four Lands safe?" Instead she decided to work backwards.

"How did I get here?" Her voice was raspy and broke often, but she was able to speak clearly, which felt like an accomplishment.

"Wil found you in Safehold. He set your leg and bandaged your worst wounds before coming here. I don't think he rested once until you made it back safely." She gave her a small smile as Eretria took another piece of bread and thought over what she said.

"How is he? Where is he?"

"He is here. I believe he is with Allanon at the moment. He is doing better now that he is sleeping and eating on a regular schedule. Though he has barely left your side since you arrived." Catania looked at her and smirked as if Wil's attachment to Eretria was romantic. No, that ship sailed long ago. He had chosen Amberle really from the moment he met her. Her stomach lurched at the thought and she refused the fourth piece of bread. Eretria felt a yawn come over her and she stretched what limbs didn't protest too much.

"You should get some more sleep. I will tell Wil that you woke up. He will probably want to talk to you. But first, rest." Catania stood and took the bread and cup away. Eretria felt her eyes grow heavier and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 When Eretria woke up the next day, it was easier to adjust to her surroundings and her body was in less pain, though only marginally. Catania was nowhere in sight, but she had left a new cup of water on the bed stand for the her. For the few minutes she laid there in the quiet of the room, she took into account each and every injury on her body. She payed attention to which ones were almost healed, which were but a dull ache, and which ones she needed to treat with caution.

A knock at the door sounded a little too loud in the silence. She gave no answer and, taking it as approval or the fact that she was still asleep, the door opened slightly and Wil peeked his head in. Immediately, Eretria’s mind was racing a mile a minute with thousands of questions. Seeing that she was, in fact, awake, Wil broke out into a wide smile and fully stepped into the room.

“You’re looking better,” he said as he sat in the chair beside the bed.

“And you look like shit.” He chuckled, then paused.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I fought an army, which I kind of did, I guess.” He hummed in response, that wasn’t the answer he wanted. “But, I’m good. A little banged up, but I’ll survive.”

They were silent a few moments before she spoke again.

“Wil, where is she?” He looked down at his hands and took a deep breath.

When he looked back up, he had tears in his eyes and his eyebrows were pulled together in concern.

“No. No, it’s not possible. I can’t…” she choked on a sob. Tears were streaming down both of their faces now. Wil brought the chair even closer to the bed and wrapped her in his arms.

“She… she said that she was the seed and… she just walked right into the Ellcrys. She’s gone, Eretria. She saved the Four Lands.”

When he spoke those two words, “ _she’s gone_ ,” words she never ever wanted to hear, Eretria’s body shook as a she cried harder and harder. She tucked her head under Wil’s chin and rested it on his shoulder.

They cried for what felt like hours and when they were finished, her body felt heavy in a way she hadn’t felt since she was a young girl and she was impossibly thirsty but did not want to drink. The last time she had cried so hard was after the first night of having to defend herself from all of the older rover men who tried to take her in her own tent. Since then she had wept silently and progressively less frequently. Rovers didn’t cry. But she was no longer a rover.

Once their breathing had gone back to normal, she pulled away and wiped her face dry. They sat in silence again, save for some sniffling. At one point, Eretria drank a sip of water, only for it to feel slimy as it made its way down her throat along with the remnants of her crying bout. She chose against drinking any more water the rest of the day.

When the silence had finally been too much for her, she spoke up, “I should probably get some rest now.”

The dejected look on Wil’s face felt like grinding the shattered pieces of her heart into the ground. But he understood she just needed space. Wil placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Eretria let out a long sigh and felt tears start to build up again. It wasn’t even close to evening, but she was able to sleep until the next morning after crying herself to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you liked it, want more, and definitely if I made a mistake. Thanks!


End file.
